public. They now unhappily confirmed everybody in the bad opinion they
had formed of him. That the long disgrace he suffered continued to
confirm him in his bad habits, and that it explains to some extent his
after-conduct, there can be no doubt. But I must leave him now, and
return to other matters.





CHAPTER XLIX

But, meanwhile, a great change had taken place at Court. Chamillart had
committed the mistake of allowing the advancement of D'Harcourt to the
head of an army. The poor man did not see the danger; and when warned of
it, thought his cleverness would preserve him. Reports of his fall had
already begun to circulate, and D'Antin had been spoken of in his place.
I warned his daughter Dreux, the only one of the family to whom it was
possible to speak with profit. The mother, with little wit and knowledge
of the Court, full of apparent confidence and sham cunning, received all
advice ill. The, brothers were imbecile, the son was a child and a
simpleton, the two other daughters too light-headed. I had often warned
Madame de Dreux of the enmity of the Duchesse de Bourgogne; and she had
spoken to her on the subject. The Princess had answered very coldly that
she was mistaken, that she had no such enmity. At last I succeeded, in
this indirect way, in forcing Chamillart to speak to the King on the
reports that were abroad; but he did so in a half-and-half way, and
committed the capital mistake of not naming the successor which public
rumour mentioned. The King appeared touched, and gave him all sorts of
assurances of friendship, and made as if he liked him better than ever.